[A/N: Duo chapters today]
In Hungary, there is a luxurious palace with only one person living in it. The door opens, and a man enters. He spots a woman lying on her office desk, but he doesn't shout at her for her ill manners.
He stood in front of the desk, his arms folded behind his back and let out a cough. The woman lazily opened her eyes in the direction of the sound.
"Pardon me, how was your day?"
"Usual like the rest."
A man started a conversation with the girl. They both stared at each other as words spewed from their mouths. In the girl's eyes, it was all black. She cannot tell what the man looked like, as if he were painted.
This was her world after her retirement in Budapest. A world that lost its shine and vibrant colours to her.
She leaned back and listened to the garble coming out of the man's silhouette.
"-emy has sent an invitation to you, your highness." The garbles soon formed back into coherent words as her horse's ears twitched; she lightly lifted her head at the man. The cat-brooch on her ear jangled from the twitch.
"Could you repeat that?"
"Affirmative, The Central Tracen Academy has sent an invitation to you."
"Eeeh… That's the organisation that solely focuses on us, Uma musume, affirmative?"
"Affirmative, your highness."
"What was her name…" She tilted her head and rubbed the side of her forehead, trying to remember. She met the girl in 1972, and the girl left quite an impression on her.
Her brain slowly refreshes and remembers a flashback from that moment. The girl was only 7 years old, and yet she showed such determination while wearing a cute dress given by her mother, and she could clearly see the proud and confident toothy smirk on the girl's face. Her strawberry-blonde hair fluttered from the rising wind of the garden.
"I promise you! I will create an academy where Uma Musume can join and race to their desire! I will show you the world you once sought."
She pulled out a fan and hid the lower half of her face; only her determined gaze was seen.
"Hahahaha! You had amused me very much, little girl!" The woman ruffled that girl's head. "If you manage to produce a Uma Musume who has the potential to defeat me or even that grandma Eclipse, I'll join your little organisation~"
She had originally promised that to the little girl because she thought it would be a harmless thing, but so far, the legendary racers today don't compare to her and Eclipse, well… Except for that pasta-obsessed Ribot, Camarero, and Secretariat.
She shook her head from the flashback and sat up while stretching slothfully. She looked around at her monochrome office, all black and white with shades of grey.
"Has the letter stated why the invitation was given?"
"Affirmative, your highness. It has stated that it wants you to tutor one of the students there."
"Eeeeh? Being a teacher? That's too time-consuming… Decline the invitation." She waved her hand nonchalantly as she walked away from her desk and slumped onto her sofa.
"Affirmative." As the man turned around, the woman interrupted him.
"Wait."
"Yes?" The man stopped and turned in her direction once again.
"What is the student's name they want me to tutor?"
"A promising junior-year student, named Echo Eclipse."
She froze for a moment before sitting up seriously. And for some reason, she can see the colours of blue, brown, and red emanating from the letter. Plus, she would've never thought that there would be another Uma Musume that would contain the word "Eclipse" in their name.
"What is her record?" She doesn't need to order her butler because he already researched everything that was in her letter before meeting her. The reason why? His mistress dislikes expending energy and wasting time when she has somebody who can do it for her.
"She has only run two races at present; however, she won her debut race by 17 lengths, and she won her recent race by 31 lengths."
"... Hoo?" The woman's lips curled up in intrigue, her tail started swaying as she sat up properly with her legs crossed. The youngling must be 15 years old, and manage to have that impressive length gap? Eclipse only debuted when she was 17 years old and won her debut by over 90 lengths…
She ponders if this knowledge would make that grandma happy, but then again. Even though she doesn't know where Eclipse went, that old lady loves travelling to obscure places.
"The lengths she won by increased? Hm… I will see if it continues increasing with each race she participates in. István, go send a reply to Central Tracen Academy."
'If I'm right, the amount of length should increase as Echo Eclipse continues growing up. How fun, maybe another Eclipse has been born on this world.' She thought to herself with a slight excitement.
"What should be the content of the reply, your highness?" The butler stood in front of her, kneeling and bowing below the eye level of his mistress.
"I do not accept the invitation yet. Echo Eclipse will be observed for a period of time to test if my hypothesis is correct. If she managed to win the G1 race at the end of the year by a landslide, I promise on my family creed, I will become a tutor at Central Tracen Academy solely for Echo Eclipse. And sign it off with my name."
Her amber-gold eyes glinted with excitement; her prior lazier aura has now dissipated, revealing her regal and domineering aura.
"As you wish, Miss Kincesm."